Moto puts smartwatch development on the back burner

If you’ve been holding out for the release of a new Moto 360, you may have to wait a longer than expected.

According to a report from The Verge, Moto has confirmed it does not have any plans to release a new smartwatch for the launch of Google’s Android Wear 2.0, which is due out in early 2017. A few months ago, Moto (along with LG and Huawei) confirmed it would not release a new smartwatch in 2016, but the company’s 2017 plans were uncertain at the time.

The company may revisit the market in the future should wrist technologies improve.

The head of global product development at Moto, Shakil Barkat, says the company doesn’t “see enough pull in the market to put [a new smartwatch] out at this time,” and that smartwatches and other wearable devices will not be in Moto’s annual device roadmap. “Wearables do not have broad enough appeal for us to continue to build on it year after year,” Barkat said. “We believe the wrist still has value and there will be a point where they provide value to consumers more than they do today.”

The company may revisit the market in the future should wrist technologies improve.

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The Android Wear space – and the smartwatch market as a whole, for that matter – has shifted a lot over the past few years. Android Wear certainly started off with a bang, as most launch partners consisted of OEMs that were used to making Android smartphones and tablets. Now we’re seeing more and more classic watchmakers overtake the Android Wear space, like Polar, Michael Kors, Nixon and a few others.

Moto’s smartwatch future may be up in the air for now, but one thing’s for certain – there needs to be some big improvements in the space before the company starts developing another Android Wear device. Back in September, Moto claimed that there are just too many trade-offs in the current smartwatch component space. For instance, while it may be possible to bring cellular connectivity to a watch, there are too many trade-offs involved.

As you may recall, Google recently delayed the official launch of Android Wear 2.0. The company originally said it’d be available for all in the fall of 2016, but now it’s not coming until “early 2017.”